Results tagged “curriculum” from Learn at Every Turn - Creative, Enriched Homeschooling

Galen will be four years old at the end of September. Although too young to enroll in our charter, he loves learning and seems to soak up information from his environment. He really enjoys jigsaw puzzles, matching games, tanagrams and other games where you construct patterns from different shaped blocks. Recently, he's become enamored with books and studies them with an almost unsettling focus. He's been able to count up to and back from ten (and maybe to 20) and recite his ABC's by rote for the last year, but he also seems to be learning to recognize numbers and letters by sight on his own as well. And he doesn't seem to miss any logical connections, which he normally articulates at the top of his lungs with glee.

For a brief time, I considered getting Moving Beyond the Page's 5-7 curriculum for Galen, with the idea that he could work through it slowly. I suspect he is almost ready for it. In the end, however, I've rejected that idea.

I didn't use a formal curriculum with either Landry or Kipp at Galen's age. Instead, I made some fun one-on-one time each day to work on phonics, printing and numbers. I also made certain to take the time to explain whatever was interesting to them. After much debate, I've decided that I can see no reason to depart from what has worked in the past.

Therefore, my curriculum list for Galen is short and low key. I have some basic Kindergarten curriculum books from Costco, a dry erase board for printing, Hot Dot cards for phonics, a board with tiles numbered 1 to 100, Bob Books, and some learning puzzles to teach basic skills. I think Galen will enjoy all of that. In addition, he can join in art with his brothers, and I might see if he enjoys learning Spanish through Rosetta Stone. When he shows an interest in a subject like the moon or ants, I will find books on that subject for him. And I will make the time to read copious amounts to him.

With that, my initial thoughts on curriculum for all three boys are complete. I still need to clean and organize my homeschool room. However, as much as I will miss the summer (and I really will!), I think I am beginning to look forward to this school year. I am excited to see where the year takes us.

Our Moving Beyond the Page order arrived in May, and our Education Specialist and I reviewed the 7-9 and 8-10 curriculum packages. The lessons seem well planned and cover a broad spectrum of subjects. Also included is a day-by-day detailed lesson plan.

The boys have already completed most of the science kits covered by the MBtP curriculum in past years, so I called the company to ask their advice. The man I spoke with suggested two options. I can try to go deeper into whatever subjects we have already covered to find new challenges, or I can buy the 9-11 science curriculum which can be bought separately at that stage. The latter has two drawbacks. First, since I cannot separate the science curriculum in the 7-9 and 8-10 packages, I would still have to buy them although I would not use them. Second, I think the boys would lose some of the cross-curricular connections once we started splicing parts from different packages.

Ultimately, my ES and I decided to try MBtP for this year, but with some caveats. First, I'm not certain how closely we will follow the daily lesson plan. If the boys show an interest, I will not ignore that, but will pause and go deeper. If we reach material that is a needless repetition, we will go quickly or skip it all together. That choice may also permit us the time to continue bok fu and piano lessons while Kipp takes the 12-week engineering class and Landry takes chess lessons. Second, I will heavily supplement science to make certain they are adequately challenged. That said, I am excited to try Moving Beyond the Page.

Again, Moving Beyond the Page does not include a math component. We've settled on Singapore Math for 2nd and 4th grade, and our ES is attempting to find those in our district.

To supplement science, we will have some projects and experiments going on that are unrelated to the curriculum. For instance, we will continue with Young Scientist Club kits, GEM unit studies and a new chemistry set. Originally, I intended to include another Engineering is Elementary unit study, but we wont have time for the unit study if Kipp takes the LEGO engineering class and the school approves the purchase of his LEGO Mindstorm kit. 

I'd also like to continue with the Story of the World to give the boys a sense of world history. However, I am seriously considering starting Volume 1 over again. Landry did not join Kipp until January so did not study the earlier chapters, and it was a lot for Kipp to digest at five. Furthermore, I'd like to take a closer look at some of the projects that the author suggests.

Landry and Kipp will continue with Rosetta Stone, piano lessons and bok fu. Having looked through MBtP, I think the boys will receive enough in terms of art, but I may still supplement both technique and history as needed. As I've previously mentioned, we are attempting to enroll Kipp in an engineering class and will take Landry to chess lessons as often as time permits since the lessons are some distance away.

I still feel strongly that the most potent learning experiences are hands on. Looking over this post, I know already that I may become preoccupied with the daily lesson plan and workbooks when I am distracted by so many outside lessons. I hope that I can continue to see the broader picture and make time for interesting fieldtrips and thought-provoking projects, despite the plan and the pressures of getting everyone where they need to be on time.

That said, I think this next year has the potential to be a wonderful learning experience for the boys.

My book order for next year is due to the charter by the second week in June. Usually, this deadline produces a crazy flurry of activity from me because I research each part of the boys' curriculum independently. Once I find what I feel is best suited to each boy in each area, I attempt to make cross-curricular connections on my own.

This year, however, I am relaxing. A friend of mine brought Moving Beyond the Page to my attention. According to the website, MBtP is an all-in-one curriculum designed for creative and gifted learners. It meets state and federal standards and is concept based. Honestly, it sounds a bit too good to be true. However, my Education Specialist and I pored over the website and concluded that it deserves a closer look. Relying on the 30-day money-back guarantee, I ordered a 7-9 curriculum pack and a 8-10 curriculum pack this morning. It should arrive in one to three weeks.

I am hopeful that MBtP will provide a solid, well-coordinated core to our curriculum. Still, I suspect that it will not be enough. It is simply too much to expect that one curriculum could provide the boys enough to keep them happily challenged. For that reason, I'm putting together some resources with which to supplement their studies. Here are my thoughts thus far, in no particular order:

(1) math - MBtP does not include mathematics at Kipp's and Landry's levels. This is done to allow students to work at their appropriate level. We have used Math Steps for the past three years. Although both Kipp and Landry have a solid understanding of math, Landry grows tired of the repetitive exercises in his text, and I fear Kipp will follow suit. For that reason, I am taking a closer look at Singapore Math, which reportedly requires less repetition.

(2) world history - MBtP does not appear to emphasize world history. This would make sense since this curriculum meets state and federal standards, neither of which emphasize world history in the grades my sons have completed. I continue to believe that this is a terrible shortcoming. We are increasingly becoming part of a global economy. We need to understand the history and cultures of other countries with which we must interact. Furthermore, I believe the cliche that those who do not understand history are destined to repeat it. For these reasons, I want to continue with Story of the World. While I am not fond of the biblical stories presented occasionally as fact and I suspect it simplifies some history, SotW provides an amazing overview of history. I find the literature suggestions in each chapter especially effective for making history come alive to my six- and seven-year-old boys.

(3) science - While MBtP includes a science component, we cannot get enough science in this house. We will continue with Young Scientist Club kits, GEM unit studies and an Engineering is Elementary unit study .

(4) art - I would like to continue with projects created by my watercolor instructor. I've also got a couple of good art resources I want explore further: Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters and How to Teach Art to Children

(5) foreign language - I would like to see Landry continue learning Spanish with Rosetta Stone and let Kipp experiment with different languages on Rosetta Stone until he finds one he would like to pursue.

(6)  piano - The boys enjoy piano so we will continue lessons when school starts in August.

(7) bok fu - The boys also enjoy their martial arts class and just received their yellow belts, so we will continue when school resumes.

Of course, all of this hinges on Moving Beyond the Page withstanding our scrutiny when it arrives. I have high hopes that it will. However, if it does not, you can assume the blog will be on hiatus for the remaining weeks of school while I scramble madly to cobble my curriculum.

I recently realized how few weeks we have left in this school year and did a brief curriculum review. Landry and Kipp will easily finish their workbooks by the end of the year, if not sooner.

That knowledge has emboldened me. With the blessing of my charter's education specialist, we are going to throw caution to the wind and put projects first for the next few weeks. Workbooks will take a back seat to the extent that we might not get to them some weeks. If necessary, we will double up on workbooks in the last couple of weeks if we fall behind.

Given our new emphasis, I thought I'd make a list of our projects to hold myself accountable. I suspect my definition of project is pretty unique. I'm including unit studies and Landry's literature text, both of which require more preparation by me and involved, open ended discussion.

For the next few weeks, we will be focusing on the following:

- Young Scientist's Club kits and necessary follow-up research
-  GEMS' Terrarium Habitats and Secret Formula unit studies
-  ancient China unit study - Landry
-  Journeys and Destinations language arts - Landry
-  Engineering is Elementary: A Sticky Situation
-  Story of the World, Volume 1 -
-   learning to play the harmonica - Kipp
-   Lego robot building - Kipp
-   literature unit studies directed by interest- Kipp
-  Great Sunflower project (if we receive seeds)
-   the biochemistry of organic gardening (if I can work it in while building the garden)
-   Cycles differentiated curriculum

I'm really excited. Depending how this experiment  goes, I suspect the next few weeks could radically change my approach to homeschooling next year. I can't wait to see how the boys react to the change.

Each week, I face the same dilemma. Where do we start?

Now, some are blessed with amazing children that are drawn to schoolwork. Mine are not. They have no difficulty understanding and contributing on a fairly advanced level with relative ease. Still, if given the choice of any aspect of their curriculum or playing outside, there would be no real choice.

For this reason, I end up steering our direction each week. Most weeks, I start through the workbooks. I think somewhere deep inside, I feel some obligation to make absolutely certain the boys get the basics of reading, writing and 'rithmatic. Also, if I have to be completely truthful with myself, workbooks are an easy way to teach. In our house, the boys require little more of me than to check their work.

More often than not, we don't have enough time to work on all of our projects when we start with workbooks.  The projects become extras that we address after the fact. That troubles me. The projects are more work for me. I have to plan ahead and sharpen my Socratic method. Still, I genuinely believe that the boys make valuable discoveries through our projects in a very natural, unforced way.

As a result of my concern, I've thrown caution to the wind for the past few weeks and, wild and crazy homeschooler that I am, I started each week with projects. The results have been wonderful. Although they would still prefer to be outside, the boys have been really enjoying the hands-on work. And the surprising result is that the workbooks are still getting done. Somehow, they get squeezed in here and there. 

I guess I'm striking a blow for letting go of that which is easy and familiar and trying that which is more challenging. In this case, it's creating boys that are interested and involved, at least until they can get back outside.

During the winter break, I like to evaluate our homeschooling to determine what is working and what is not. I also like to evaluate if the boys are progressing at a good rate and if they are covering all of the state requirements. Furthermore, winter break provides a good opportunity to assess whether I am using all possible resources to their best advantage and if each son is getting enough of everything he needs.

 

I dreaded undertaking this review.  This year, I am responsible for educating both Landry and Kipp through the charter, and Galen desperately wants to learn anything anyone will take time to teach him.  I doubted seriously whether I was living up to my hopes of giving each boy an enriched learning experience.

 

However, I was relieved at first. I attempted to create a fairly diverse and challenging curriculum last summer, and Landry and Kipp are plowing through it without issue. They are not falling behind. Indeed, they appear to be a bit ahead in some areas. On reflection, I think that they are really learning the material presented. While I should spend more time with Galen, I can remedy that readily now that I know that Landry and Kipp are progressing nicely. 

 

Still, I am troubled. Because I am responsible for educating more than one child this year, I've become preoccupied this past semester with the number of chapters covered each week, the number of projects completed, how each activity translates into an entry on the lesson plans for the charter. These issues, however, have little or nothing to do with the rich learning experience I want for my sons.

 

Now, I am not going to become an unschooler. Truthfully, I think that I am simply incapable of unschooling. I have too much need to direct, organize and control. Still, I think the boys will benefit from the following changes to our routine.

 

First, I want to spend more time out of doors with the boys. If nothing else, I think the outdoors will help me keep a clearer eye on the big picture.

 

Second, I want to continue to lessen my dependence on workbooks and increase my reliance on projects.  I'm looking forward to building a robot with Kipp, creating a miniature version of the Great Wall of China on the property, and exploring chemistry, biology and botany in this year's vegetable garden.

 

Third, I want to seek out more opportunities for the boys to meet other children. We live on a few acres, and most of our neighbors are older.  Unless we seek out other families, opportunities will not arise on their own. Making time for more park days with our local co-op does not mean that I am neglecting their education. Joining our local children's chess club and attending science classes at our local nature center will enhance both their lives and learning opportunities. 

 

Fourth, I want to make more time to read with the boys. This one sounds a bit silly. Landry is fully capable of reading any book that interests him. Kipp needs every possible opportunity to practice his reading to gain confidence because he's on the verge of being an independent reader. Galen prefers board books. By the end of the day, I'm often so worn from keeping the boys on task that I only want to curl up with my own book. Still, discovering the joy in becoming entranced by a story is equally important with learning to read. I can't think of a better way to help the boys discover that than by modeling my excitement in sharing a book with them. Besides, they clamor for me to read with them, and that will not last forever.

 

Finally, I want to work in more fieldtrips. I've fallen out of the habit of seeking out fieldtrips because I was subconsciously afraid that the boys would fall behind in their curriculum. Well, that is simply ridiculous. Before we had children, I dreamt of the day I would introduce my favorite art museums or Jerry's favorite science museums to our children. Now, it's time to put those dreams into action.  

 

I'm sure that I will be tempted to fall back into my old habits as I become caught up in the semester, but this post will record my intentions and remind me of what I want for my sons.

Kipp is working on first grade state requirements this year. Because he is enrolled in the charter for the first time, I am attempting to keep his studies as light and easy as possible until I get a better understanding of his learning style, likes and dislikes. We've begun with the following:

(1)  Math: Kipp is starting with Math Steps: Level 1. However, it appears that this isn't going to be enough for him. I will be looking for some additional resources to give him more of a challenge.

(2) Language Arts: Kipp is reading the Bob Book series. However, he is working through these pretty rapidly now that I'm making consistent time to listen to him read. Once we finish this series, we will jump to some simple chapter books and then I would like to move to some solid literature and unit studies.

In the meantime, we will do unit studies where I read the stories to Kipp. To help include him in Landry's Ancient China unit, we will pick stories with an Asian theme such as The Story about Ping and A Pair of Red Clogs. Barefoot Books also has some Chinese stories that I will look into later.

Kipp has started Spelling Connections: Level 1 and Explode the Code 1. Because his ability to learn exceeds his ability to write, we will skip grammar worksheets. Instead, we will try activities such as cutting out magazine pictures and labeling them according to the correct part of speech.

Kipp is very creative and can tell stories for as long as anyone will listen. Again, however, his ability to write at five hinders his ability to get his thoughts on paper. For this reason, I will encourage him to dictate his stories to me while I write them down. I can use this as a vehicle to encourage complete sentences, sentence punctuation, and concepts like character, plot and the beginning, middle and end of a story.

(3) Social Studies: Kipp will use a social studies workbook to complete the state requirements for this subject. I have some matching games from Lakeshore Learning that address holidays and heroes and jobs in the community. Kipp will also participate in the same local history field trips as Landry. Again, however, I believe that children need a sense of world history. To that end, we are playing the Story of the World CD's whenever possible. I have an activity book designed to complement the CD's. The activity book includes a list of books which expand on the subject of each story. However, I believe just listening to the stories is wonderful exposure at his age.

(4) Science: Kipp will participate equally with Landry in the science experiments listed in Landry's curriculum. In addition, I ordered Cycles from Prufrock Press. According to Prufrock's website, Cycles will give Kipp "the opportunity to explore cycles in relation to patterns." Having skimmed through it, I think Kipp will love this book.

(5) Music: Kipp takes piano lessons and likes to play with Music Ace Deluxe.

Kipp will participate in the same PE, art and religious activities as Landry. Please see the post entitled, "Curriculum 2008-2009, Part 1" for details on those activities.

Okay, two sons down. One to go!

I have put off the curriculum posts long enough.

I don't plan out the boys' curriculum in painstaking detail. Rather, I research a list of resources to keep on hand so that I'm never caught short. Then, I constantly evaluate, keep what is working, discard what isn't, and try something new when the boys need it. That is not because I don't have enough time or patience to lesson plan. Rather, I've come to realize that many of the most potent learning moments come when I haven't planned them or even forseen them. From what I've observed, those moments occur most often when the boys are immersed in interesting materials and thought-provoking experiences and allowed to make their own connections.

One final thought before I get down to the nuts and bolts. My husband and I have made a conscious decision to permit the boys to work only one grade level ahead of their chronological age in terms of state requirements. Instead, we try where possible to deepen their knowledge and give them more complex answers than they might normally receive. For instance, where the state science textbook talks of "pushes" or "pulls," we introduce and discuss concepts such as gravity and centrifugal forces.

This year, Landry is tackling third grade using the following resources:

(1)  Math: Landry does well with Math Steps and will continue this year with Level 3.  To spice things up a bit, I also have Enrichment Units in Math, Logic Safari and Primarily Thinking from Prufrock Press. Landry really enjoyed Enrichment Units in Math last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction to the other materials. I also purchased the computer game, Number Devil, to mix up our media a bit. We also try to keep an eye out for opportunities to highlight math in everyday life.

(2)  Language Arts: For literature last year, Landry used Beyond Words from the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary and was exposed to a wonderful array of literary concepts. So, he will continued that series this year with Journeys and Destinations. For grammar, he will try Editor in Chief from the Critical Thinking Company. This is new for him, but I have high hopes for it because this text puts Landry in charge of correcting other's work. He will continue with the series Spelling Connections and Explode the Code and learn cursive with Zaner Bloser's Handwriting.

On the advice of a resource teacher who works with children in the local GATE program, I am going to introduce Landry to the Maevis Beacon typing program. We hope that it will help him enjoy writing more by making it faster for him to get his thoughts down.

Similarly, Landry has started writing for 10 minutes every day in a journal. The primary purpose of this activity is to get Landry in the habit of putting his thoughts down on paper. Futhermore, the GATE resource teacher recommended 6+1 Traits of Writing as a writing resource. Landry will do other writings for his other subjects that will be edited and revised for grammar, punctuation and word choice.

(3)  Science: This year, I am giving up on science textbooks. They end up being nothing more than a reader for Landry and are significantly below his reading level at that. So, I'm trying a couple of new things. The backbone of Landry's science will be Lawerence Hall of Science GEMS unit studies. We are starting with Terrarium Habitats, an up close and personal look at dirt and the organisms that inhabit it.

Because science is a big favorite here, I've decided to double up a bit. I hope we will also conduct two or three experiments from 101 Hands-On Experiments each week. My goal is get Landry to start thinking in terms of the scientific method. He also has a subscription to the Young Scientist's Club, which means he will receive one science kit per month by mail on a wide variety of topics.

(4) Social Studies: This is one area where I strongly disagree with California. I think the Well-Trained Mind is correct: our children need to have a sense of world history. For this reason, I really liked Ancient Egypt:Gift of the Nile from the Gifted Center at the College of William and Mary. Through that text, Landry was exposed last year to political and economic concepts that I did not see until high school and college. This year, the series continues with Ancient China:The Middle Kingdom. That will be the backbone of Landry's history/social studies. I will attempt to broaden this out to a cross-curricular project by adding in lessons and field trips addressing food, culture, art, architecture, etc. To that end, I found an interesting text from Engineering is Elementary called A Sticky Situation. This text starts with the story of the Great Wall of China and ends with materials testing and building a small version of the Great Wall.

Because Landry is enrolled in a public charter, he must fulfill the state's social studies requirement. Therefore, he will complete a social studies workbook that will ensure he's covered the basics. I've also lined up field trips to local historical sites and museums to try to bring some life to the California history requirements.

Where possible, I will try to note comparisons that arise between in Landry's studies of ancient China and our modern society.

(5)  Music: Landry takes piano lessons. I am also trying a computer game called Music Ace Deluxe. And I hope to continue to expose him to all different styles of music as part of day-to-day life.

(6)  Art: I have to admit that teaching art is one of weaknesses. I like to do art and have a decent understanding of art history, but I don't like to teach technique. Here again, I'm trying some new things. Landry has a copy of Art Masterpieces to Color, Discovering Great Artists and How to Teach Art to Children. I think Discovering Great Artists has particular promise as it gives a brief reading for each of a long list of famous artists, then pairs an appropriate art activity with each reading. How to Teach Art gives activities emphasizing the different elements of art. I also ordered the Phonics of Drawing because it's computer software and that is always a big hit in this house. And, as a fallback, our local educational supply store, Lakeshore Learning has a free craft every Saturday morning.

(7) PE: For the first semester this year, we will take long geocaching/nature walks for our routine PE.

(8) Spanish: We tried Powerglide last year. Landry liked it and looked forward to it, but I really don't think he was learning much Spanish. He will try Rosetta Stone this year.

(9) Religious Studies: The boys are baptized Catholic, so we will use the Faith First series. I like this series because it emphasizes community service. However, I'm not comfortable with exploring only one religion with the boys. At a minimum, I hope to also introduce Eastern concepts through literature by authors such as Jon Muth and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Finally, if time permits (HA!!!), I'd like to explore the group, Roots & Shoots. It's sort of an environmentist/conservationst form of Boy Scouts founded by Jane Goodall.

Whew!!

Tomorrow, I will pick up the materials I ordered last May from our charter. Over the next few days, I will post rough lesson plans for all three boys. Over time, I will be able to see what worked and what didn't, where we veered in a new direction and where we stayed the course. Maybe the most interesting part, however, will be the moments when the boys make connections across the curriculum that I did not forsee or run with something in a way that I didn't expect. That's when the magic of homeschooling really seems to happen.

Here's hoping for a school year full of those moments.  

Salutations! I'm Annie, and I homeschool three very blond and very energetic boys between the ages of 22 months and 7 years. The two oldest are enrolled in a small public charter, and the consensus is that they are gifted. We have not confirmed that with testing, however, because it wouldn't change our homeschooling.

My parenting philosophy from day one has been to pay close attention to each boy and give that child what he needs, even if it is not always what he wants.  In the past, needs have included extra hugs, more sleep, a different diet, more exercise, more or less structure, more individual attention, and more responsibility.  Currently, each needs an appropriately challenging learning environment that exposes him to new ideas and experiences permitting deeper connections. In short, they need opportunities to learn at every turn. While they will not take full advantage of every opportunity, I am passionate about providing them with the choice to do so.

My homeschooling style is best described at eclectic. Because I am driven by what each child needs at a given moment, no one homeschooling philosophy works all the time for all three boys. I find value in Susan Bauer and Jessie Wise's The Well-Trained Mind, the Charlotte Mason method, and unschooling, and use elements of all three as needed. I also choose to meet all the educational requirements for my state.

Why am I blogging? Homeshooling parents and teachers tell me frequently that I do something different in formulating my sons' curriculum. I am not completely convinced that is true. I am absolutely certain that I do not have all the answers. However, my goal is to record our homeschooling journey on the off chance that another parent might benefit.

And thus begins Learn At Every Turn.